Vine cutter or bean puller



May 20, 1930. l C, FQWLER A1,759,741

VINE CUTTER 0R BEAN FULLER Filed Feb. 25, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet vl INVENTOR BY g y ATTonNEYs' May 2o, 1930.1

C. H. FOWLER VINE GUTTER OR-BEAN FULLER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 25, 1929 mvENron I wkn ATTORNEY-S Patented May 20, 1930 n 'l l i.

Y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. CHARLES H.. IFOWLER,r OF MATHERTON, MICHIGAN vINE CUTTER on` BEAN PULLER Application` led February 25,` 1929.' Y Serial No. 342,355.

This `invention relates to a machine for tween forwardlyextending bars 9 by means use in harvesting beans. or other. viny of a pivot bolt 10 with itsr rearend congrowths, and its object is to remove the plants nected to the crank of acrank shaft. 11 mountfrom the ground, shake them free from dirt, ed on the frame and provided with a hand and deposit them in windrows upon the surlever 12 for turning said shaft, said lever 50 face of the ground. y A further objectv isto' being provided with the usual latch for enprovide a machine of simple .construction gaging the notches in'a sector 13 secured to for. the purpose having certain new and usethe frame. The tongue 8 may therefore be ful features in the construction, combinaturned on its pivot 10 to raise vor lower its l0 tion and arrangement of parts. l j forward end relative to the frame 5 byturn- 55 With theabove Iand other ends in view, ing the shaft 11, all arranged inthe .usual the invention consists in theV matters hereinmanner to provide the proper adjustment afterr set forth and more particularly pointed to suitl the conditions of use., i out in the appended claims, reference being Bolted to theframe 5 adjacent the wheels,

Y1&5 had to the accompanying drawings, in are downwardly and rearwardly extending 60 *5 which tongue is securedto the frame 5'bewardlyand thus Serving to bringor gather which- A. bracket arms'14 and secured to the lowerl ends Figure 1 isa plan view of a inachiney illus- Vof these arms are blades 15 which extendin trative of an embodiment of thepresent ina horizontal position forwardly and rearvention; v -Y wardly of the machine and in a 'rearwardly v .Fig.. 2 is a detail view of a lifting fork convergent relation with their advance sharp e5 showing its relation to cutter blades and edges arranged to cut just beneath thelsurgathering fingers or rods; face of the ground when the machine isk in 'Fig 3 is a side elevation of Fig. 1 with operation. Brace bars 16 are bolted to the portionsbroken away and in .section ;L and frame'at their upper ends and intermediate Fig. 4 is a front end elevation'of Fig. 3. their ends to thejbrackets 14'to brace said v70 Themachine embodying the present inbrackets and are extended forwardly of` said ventionincludes the usual ground wheels 1 brackets and curved downwardly toward the mounted upony the ends. of a divided axle forward ends of the blades 15, said forward comprising two separate crank shafts 2 with ends 17 of said barsl presenting sharp forthe crankportions 3 of the shafts adjacent ward edges to cut Vandldivide the vines for- 75 the wheels and the straight portions mountwardly ofthe blades. ed in bearings 4 on a rectangular frame 5 Secured tothe rear ends of the'blades 15V with each shaft 2 held against rotationr in are rods 18 which. are bent upwardly as they its bearings by means ofa hand lever 6 extend rearwardly and serve to lift the vines rigidly secured to each shaft and each hand after they have ybeen cut off or pulled upby 8O lever provided with the usual latch or dog the blades 15, 'and these rods also serve as a to engage a notched Vsector' 7" secured to the track or support 'for the vines upon which frame. Each wheelv may therefore be adthey are vibratedY bythe vibration of'these justed relative to the `frame to raise or lower rods to shake the'dirtffromthevines, Gath- 40 the frame vby turning the crank shafts 2 ering rods 19 are securedv attheir forward S5 by means of the hand levers, all as commonly ends to they bracket arms 14 just above the arranged. in farm'rmachinery of this characblades and extend rearwardly inV parallel ter. The machine is also provided' with a spaced relation adjacent tov and above the tongue 8 common to horse-drawn machines, rear edges of the'blades converging rearthe severed vines toward they center line of the path of travel of the machine and deposit them upon the vibrator rods 18 and also upon 'floating rods 20 which are pivotally attached Y pended from the frame by legs 22 extend ati-their forward endsto a cross bar 21 sus-y ing downwardly from the frame :just forwardly of the forward ends of the blades 15,

said rods being looped adjacent their forward ends with said loops'passed around 'said bar to pivotally attach them thereto with VtheV loops extended upwardly and forwardly Y of said bar to form guards 2()a for preventing the vines from catching and bunching up between said bars.22. These rods 2O be-` ing pivotallyattachedto the cross'bars 21, at their forward ends, trail or `ioat upon the surface of the ground,'and each rod is' bent upwardly as at'23 nearfits rear end to'lift the vines which have ,been pulled by the blades l'and thrown vor gathered along'the centerlineof the path of travel of the machine and upon these oating rods 20, the

*I Ybends at the rear ends'of the bars serving to lift the vines and the Vvibration of which bars serves to shake the dirt from the vines.

VTo further assist in lifting, agitating and depositing thev'ines 'in a-loose windrow rearwardly lof the machine, a crank shaft 24 is supported inbearings uponthe'rear ends of Y rearwardly extending b'ars25 secured t0 theY Qframeand mounted Vupon the crank portion 26` of this shaft, isa rocker bar27V pivotally ,attached thereto to turn ,freely lthereon and vward end. The shaft 24 is rotated; by means of a sprocket wheel 29,011v one end thereof l 40 Vwhich sprocket is engaged by a sprocket c hain tothe upper end of this rocker'is pivotally attached the' rear'end of a rod 28 which is pivotally attached yto the frame at `its for- 30- passing overa large sprocket 31'secured .to one'of the ground wheels 1, Forward yprogress'of'the machine'thus'imparts rotaryy motion to the-shaft 24.which is provided with a balance kwheel 32 on its end op'-V posite that provided with the sprocket, and the-crank 26 of thershaftthus impart's'a swinging` movement," forward, downward,

Y rearward and upward, tothe rocker bar. 27

to the lower end of which is'att'ached a series of spring fingers or'tines togetherfforming A a fork 33 for piokinglup andthrowing rear- 'and then `lifted and thrown'by the frkvinto loosev bunches inl a" row upon the topV vof the combination ofV ground in a condition to quickly dry out and to then be gathered.

The principle of operation is disclosed in the embodiment'shown inthe accompanying drawings but it is obvious that changes fall-V ing within the scope of the appended claims,

maybe made without departing vfromgthe Y spirit of the invention which resides inthe instrumentalities so arranged, in a machine for the purpose, asto accomplish the ends in view.

lHaving thus fully described invention,v

whatI claim iszl n 1.,-A vine harvestingy machine including means Yfor looseningthe vines from theY ground, rearwardlyjjconverging rods ,for

gathering the -loosened vines into a windrow', I

trailing rods upon which the vines are depositedby vsaid vgathering rods, said trailing'- rods being free to vibrate and shake the dirt from the vines', a fork supported aboveV said windrow, and meansu for imparting to said fork a rearward and downward kmotion to e lift the vines and deposit the same ina-loose ywindrowcon top of the g'r0und 2. A bean vine harvesting machine including blades adaptedY tolcut beneath the sur-V face of the groundV and loosen thevines, gath- Y ering members for gathering the loosened vines into a windrow, agitating members beneath the vines having upwardly extending rear end'portions to lift the vines, Va crank, a rocker bar carried by saidcrank and pivotally limited in its forward andrearward swinging movement at its upper end, a fork carried by the lower end of said'rockerprbar,

and means .forY imparting Y, rotation to .said

crank.

A bean ing a frame, ground wheelsv supporting said frame, bladesica-rried by the frame to 4cut be# neath the surface of the l.ground andloosen the vinesjrods pivotally attachedtosaid;

frame to trail upon the ground rearwardly of Vsaid blades, means for gathering the loos-y vine harvesting machine :includn ened vines and depositing them upon. said pivoted rods, acrank shaft` on Vthe frame,

means for transmitting motionk from one of .the ground wheels to turn said shaft,a rocker Y Y Y crank of said vrcrank shaft. for vpivotal Vmpove- Y' -ment thereon, a Vrod .pivotally attached at one end to theupper end of said rocker bar and at its opposite end to said frame, `anda-fork ,Y -4120 bar mounted intermediate its'ends upon the on the lower end of said rocker'bar. y

4. A beanvine harvesting machine including'a frame, ground wheels for supporting said frame, brackets' on the frame adjacent eachside thereof, blades on the lower 'ends of'said brackets extending rearwardly in convergent relation to cut beneath the surface'of the ground and loosen the vines, gathering Y members attached at their forwardfends toA said brackets and converglng rearwardly,

rods pivotally connected atl. theirk forward' ends to the frame' forwardly of said blades and floating upon the ground rearwardly thereof, said rods being upwardly bent adi jacent their rear ends, a crank shaft mounted transversel of said frame in bearings thereon, means or transmitting motion from one ofsaid groundrwheels to turn said shaft, a

rocker bar pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the crank of said crank shaft, a rod pivotally attached at one end to the upper end of said'rocker bar and at its opposite end to said frame, and a fork comprising a plurality of tines secured to the lower end of said rocker bar.

vIn testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

CHARLES H. FOWLER. 

